Buildroot for RISC-V

Using Buildroot to create embedded Linux systems for 64-bit RISC-V

Buildroot is an embedded Linux build system that generates complete system images from source for a wide range of boards and processors. I have recently added support for 64-bit RISC-V to the official Buildroot distribution which make it a viable alternative to other build systems for RISC-V such as Yocto.

During this presentation I will give a brief overview of Buildroot and how it compares to Yocto for those in the audience who are unfamiliar with these systems. In the main part of the talk I will look at the issues relating to the implementation of RISC-V support, based on my experiences. This will include a look at the status of the RISC-V software ecosystem with regard to the selection of a suitable toolchain, C library, kernel and bootloader. I will then run through how to configure and build a minimal system for booting under QEMU. Finally I will consider any further work required to improve Buildroot for RISC-V including the status of 32-bit support.